Complete Asteroid Data from the Minor Planet Center (MPC),
updated once per month. The MPC operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory under the auspices of Division III of the International
Astronomical Union (IAU).
The MPC Orbit database contains orbital elements of minor
planets that have been published in the Minor Planet Circulars,
the Minor Planet Orbit Supplement and the Minor Planet
Electronic Circulars.EPN-TAPADQL query translated to local SQL (for debugging)Original ADQL queryQuery successfulSoftware that produced this VOTableBase URI of the serverAdvice on citing this resourceAdvice on citing this resourceA bibliographic source citable for (parts of) this dataOriginating VO resourceOriginating VO resourceData centre that has delivered the dataLegal conditions applicable to (parts of) the data containedContact optionMore information on the data SourceMore information on the data SourceName of a person or entity that produced a contributing resourceName of a person or entity that produced a contributing resourceName of a person or entity that produced a contributing resourceName of a person or entity that produced a contributing resourceName of a person or entity that produced a contributing resource
The EPN-TAP 2.0 version of the complete asteroid data from the Minor
Planet Center (MPC), updated once per month. The MPC operates at the
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory under the auspices of Division
III of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
The MPC Orbit database contains orbital elements of minor planets that
have been published in the Minor Planet Circulars, the Minor Planet
Orbit Supplement and the Minor Planet Electronic Circulars.
The following values are defined for this field:
im -- image
associated scalar fields with two spatial axes, e.g., images with
multiple color planes like from multichannel or filter cameras.
Preview images (e.g. map with axis and caption) also belong here.
Conversely, all vectorial 2D fields are described as catalogue
(see below).
ma -- map
scalar field/rasters with two spatial axes covering a large
area and projected either on the sky or on a planetary body,
associated to a Projection parameter (with a short enumerated
list of possible values). This is mostly intended to identify
complete coverages that can be used as reference basemaps.
sp-- spectrum
measurements organized primarily along a spectral axis, e.g.,
radiance spectra. This includes spectral aggregates (series
of related spectra with non-connected spectral ranges, e.g.,
from several channels of the same instrument
ds -- dynamic spectrum
consecutive spectral measurements through time, organized
as a time series. This typically implies successive spectra of
the same target or field of view.
sc -- spectral cube
sets of spectral measurements with 1 or 2 D spatial coverage, e.g.,
imaging spectroscopy. The choice between Image and spectral_cube is
related to the characteristics of the instrument (which dimension
is most resolved and which dimensions are acquired simultaneously).
The choice between dynamic_spectrum and spectral_cube is related
to the uniformity of the field of view.
pr -- profile
scalar or vectorial measurements along 1 spatial dimension, e.g.,
atmospheric profiles, atmospheric paths, sub-surface profiles,
traverses…
pf -- photometric profile
scalar or vectorial measurements along 1 angular dimension, e.g.,
phase or polarization curves, phase functions, emission-phase
function sequences… typically associated to variations in
illumination angle parameters.
vo -- volume
other measurements with 3 spatial dimensions, e.g., internal or
atmospheric structures, including shells/shape models (3D surfaces).
mo -- movie
sets of chronological 2 D spatial measurements.
cu -- cube
multidimensional data with 3 or more axes, e.g., all that is not
described by other 3 D data types such as spectral cubes or volume.
This is mostly intended to accommodate unusual data with multiple
dimensions.
ts -- time series
measurements organized primarily as a function of time (with
exception of dynamical spectra and movies, i.e. usually a scalar
quantity). Typical examples of time series include space-borne
dust detector measurements, daily or seasonal curves measured at
a given location (e.g., a lander), and light curves.
ca -- catalog
applies to a single granule providing a list of events, a catalog
of object parameters, a list of features… It is good practice to
describe the type of data included in the catalogue using a
hash-separated-list (e.g., a table of spectra should be described
by ca#sp, so that it will respond to a query for spectra).
ci -- catalogue item
applies when the service itself provides a catalogue, with entries
described as individual granules. The service can be, e.g., a list
of asteroid properties or spectral lines. Catalogue_item can be
limited to scalar quantities (including strings), and possibly to
a single element. This organization allows the user to search inside
the catalogue from the TAP query interface.
sv -- spatial vector
vector information associated to localization, such as spatial
footprints or a GIS-related element. This could contain a kml
or geojson file (STC-S strings are provided though the s_region
parameter, though). This includes maps of vectors, e.g., wind maps.
ev -- event
individual events, typically formatted in VOEvent. Characteristics
are provided via the event_* parameters.
CODMAC levels are:
1 -- raw
2 -- edited
3 -- calibrated
4 -- resampled
5 -- derived
6 -- ancillary
More information is available at
http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/info/Perturbers.html
The first part of this is a descriptor of the system
used for the perturbing planets according to the follow scheme:
======= ======================================================
(space) Undefined/unknown, assume JPL DE200 positions + masses
d JPL DE200 positions + masses
f JPL DE245 positions + masses
h JPL DE403 positions + masses
j JPL DE405 positions + masses
======= ======================================================
The second part is a two-digit hexadecimal number
to be interpreted bitwise (this was taken literally from the MPC data
and will probably be parsed out at some point). In the meantime,
here is the key to the bits:
+------------+------+-------+-------------------------------+
| Perturber | Bit | Value | |
+============+======+=======+===============================+
| Hygiea | 0 | 1 | |
+------------+------+-------+-------------------------------+
| Earth | 1 | 2 | Bits 1 + 2 must |
+------------+------+-------+ both be set or both be +
| Moon | 2 | 4 | unset! |
+------------+------+-------+-------------------------------+
| Ceres | 3 | 8 | |
+------------+------+-------+-------------------------------+
| Pallas | 4 | 16 | |
+------------+------+-------+-------------------------------+
| Vesta | 5 | 32 | |
+------------+------+-------+-------------------------------+
| Eunomia | 6 | 64 | |
+------------+------+-------+-------------------------------+
Sum the values of the included perturbers and convert to hexadecimal. Since
orbits will always include the major planets Mercury to Neptune there is no
need to include these bodies in the above scheme (other than allowing the earth
and moon to be treated separately).
Some examples of coarse and precise indicators are:
====== ======= ============================================
Coarse Precise Perturbers (Mercury-Neptune+...)
------ ------- --------------------------------------------
M-c 08 Ceres, EM barycenter
M-c 0E Ceres, Earth, Moon
M-p 16 Pallas, Earth, Moon [NOT RECOMMENDED]
M-p 18 Ceres, Pallas, EM barycenter
M-p 1E Ceres, Pallas, Earth, Moon
M-v 38 Ceres, Pallas, Vesta, EM barycenter
M-v 3E Ceres, Pallas, Vesta, Earth, Moon
M-e 78 Ceres, Pallas, Vesta, Euomia, EM barycenter
M-e 7E Ceres, Pallas, Vesta, Euomia, Earth, Moon
M-h 39 Ceres, Pallas, Vesta, Hygiea, EM barycenter
====== ======= ============================================
The default for Minor Planet Center orbits will henceforth be h (DE403), M-v (coarse) and 38 or 3E (precise, depending on whether the object is an earth-approacher or not). Additional perturbers will be added as necessary.Internal table row index, which must be unique within the table. Can be alphanumeric.Common to granules of same type (e.g. same map projection, or geometry data products). Can be alphanumeric.Associates granules derived from the same data (e.g. various representations/processing levels). Can be alphanumeric, may be the ID of original observation.The high-level organization of the data product, from a controlled vocabulary (e.g., 'im' for image, sp for spectrum). Multiple terms may be used, separated by # characters.Standard IAU name of target (from a list related to target class), case sensitiveType of target, from a controlled vocabulary.Acquisition start time (in JD), as UTC at time_refpositionAcquisition stop time (in JD), as UTC at time_refpositionSampling time for measurements of dynamical phenomena, lower limit.Sampling time for measurements of dynamical phenomena, upper limitIntegration time of the measurement, lower limit.Integration time of the measurement, upper limitSpectral range (frequency), lower limit.Spectral range (frequency), upper limitSpectral sampling step, lower limit.Spectral sampling step, upper limitSpectral resolution, lower limit.Spectral resolution, upper limitRight Ascension (ICRS), lower limit.Right Ascension (ICRS), upper limitDeclination (ICRS), lower limit.Declination (ICRS), upper limitDistance from coordinate origin, lower limit.Distance from coordinate origin, upper limitObsCore-like footprint, valid for celestial, spherical, or body-fixed framesResolution in the first coordinate, lower limit.Resolution in the first coordinate, upper limitResolution in the second coordinate, lower limit.Resolution in the second coordinate, upper limitResolution in the third coordinate, lower limit.Resolution in the third coordinate, upper limitFlavor of coordinate system, defines the nature of coordinates. From a controlled vocabulary, where 'none' means undefined.Incidence angle (solar zenithal angle) during data acquisition, lower limit.Incidence angle (solar zenithal angle) during data acquisition, upper limitEmergence angle during data acquisition, lower limit.Emergence angle during data acquisition, upper limitPhase angle during data acquisition, lower limit.Phase angle during data acquisition, upper limitStandard name of the observatory or spacecraftStandard name of instrumentUCD(s) defining the data, with multiple entries separated by hash (#) characters.Dataset-related encoding, or simplified CODMAC calibration levelDate of first entry of this granuleDate of last modification (used to handle mirroring)Start of public access periodTitle of resource (an acronym really, will be used to handle multiservice results)Provides alternative target name if more common (e.g. comets); multiple identifiers can be separated by hashesAbsolute Magnitude of the asteroid, i.e., the magnitude of the asteroid at a distance of 1 AU when viewed at a phase angle of 0°.Slope Parameter G. It describes how the magnitude of the asteroid varies as a function of changing illumination (phase angle)Epoch of the orbit (julian years)Mean anomaly at the epochArgument of Perihelion, J2000.0Longitude of ascending node, J2000.0Inclination of the orbit to the ecliptic, J2000.0Eccentricity of the orbitMean Daily MotionOrbital semimajor axisQuality code (0 is best) as per http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/info/UValue.html. Or: E -- the orbital eccentricity was assumed; D -- for one-opposition orbits this means a double (or multiple) designation is involved; F -- an e-assumed double (or multiple) designation is involved.Number of ObservationsNumber of OppositionsLength of observed arcs for single-opposition orbits.RMS Residual of orbital fitInformation on orbit perturbers; see table note.Identifies the computer of the orbitOrbit family this object belongs to (note that the classification is based on cuts in osculating element space and is not 100% reliable.Additional classification flag(s) as comma-separated human-readable phrasesDiscovery year for multi-opposition orbits.Date of last observationOrigin of the data